Meet Kaitlin Porter Cortes | boulangère

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kaitlin Porter Cortes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kaitlin, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Short answer: I love bread; everything about it, from baking to reading bread recipes to eating to watching videos about it, but most of all, I love sharing the joy of biting into the tastiest slice of bread with others. My “business” didn’t start with a desire to “start a business.” It started because my bread baking production exceeded what my little family, and even what my extended group of friends, could eat. Yet, I wanted to keep sharing the nutritious, quality, sourdough I was making with my community, thus raison pan was born.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Sourdough bread is my art. The art of sourdough bread is in its simplicity, just three ingredients, which means they have to be the highest quality. At raison pan the highest quality means as local and fresh as possible. Our bread uses all Hayden Flour Mills Arizona grains, Celtic mineral salt, and water, that’s it. In our “pan savor” we experiment with adding ingredients like spices nuts, fruits, etc. that are local and organic when available. There are quite a few challenges to working with sourdough. The “mother levain” that goes into every loaf has been alive since January 2022. It requires constant attention, it’s almost like having a second child. I have to think about it daily. Personally, my obstacles are a juggling act of balancing school, work, and taking care of my 1yr old daughter. I’m very privileged in that every obstacle I face is an obstacle that in itself is miraculous and beautiful. I have the opportunity to spend time with my baby girl, I love being able to research and write for my dissertation, and I work remotely as a copy editor where I continually interact with inspiring scholars. Although all these duties make it quite difficult to keep baking and sharing bread, they also motivate me to keep moving forward.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Tucson is full of amazing sights, adventures, people, and food. I feel very blessed to live in such an interesting place. Here’s a perfect day in Tucson, in my opinion: Start with a cup of coffee at Exo, sit on the corner outside their coffeeshop and watch as people stroll, bike, drive, skateboard by. Then head over to Time Market for a delicious croissant, hop on the tram to the University where you can smell walk under the olive trees and feel the energy of aspiring intellect. Grab a breakfast burrito from Buendia (or have a delicious sit-down meal because everything on their menu is fabulous) to gain the energy to do a short hike at Painted Hills. After the hike head over to the San Agustin Mercado and MSA Annex to peruse the shops, buy some fresh flowers at Bloom Maven, some eclectic earrings from MAST, a southwestern children’s book from Petroglyphs and of course, some pan dulce from La Estrella bakery. Finish the day with a local draft beer or cocktail on tap at Westbound and a delicious dinner from any of the local spots at the Annex. There is so much to experience in Tucson, that’s just the tip of the iceberg, but know whatever you do, you’ll experience wonderful people with inspiring stories and, without fail, great food.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Personally, my husband, Isaac, deserves a big shoutout for pushing me to be more methodical in approaching bread baking. I’m quite a whimsical baker who didn’t pay much mind to precise measurements or following a formula. My passion for baking kept me going but my experiments in the kitchen weren’t always successful until the day Isaac gifted me a food scale. And voila, consistency that allowed my bread to flourish. Another huge shoutout goes to my community of friends who always supported my exotic baking concoctions and never complained. Their feedback and support over the years kept me in the kitchen. And to the larger community of support that I received when raison pan launched online. I was so overwhelmed by the amount of people who reached out, bought bread, spread the word, and offered advice for the entrepreneurial world. Tucson has some amazing foodies with a passion to support their fellow makers and eaters alike.

Website: https://www.raisonpan.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raison.pan

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaitlin-porter-de-cortes-3ab5665b/